Mahmoud Abbas urges EU to take lead in peace efforts
Mahmoud Abbas urges EU to take lead in peace efforts
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called on the European Union to take the initiative in the Israel-Palestine peace process.
Abbas also says he will "no longer accept" any peace plan put forward by the US following President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on December 6.
"The United States has proven to be a dishonest mediator in the peace process," Abbas said during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Friday.
Abbas says he has 'trust' in French President Macron's peace efforts
Francois Mori, Pool/AP Photo
Tensions between the US and the world community came to a head at the UN General Assembly on Thursday evening.
A nonbinding draft resolution to declare Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital "null and void" was approved by the General Assembly, with 128 states voting in favour and nine against, with 35 abstentions.
The Trump administration appeared to threaten states who voted for the resolution with a cut in US aid to the UN and to member states.
Nikki Haley, US ambassador to the UN, said that as the largest donor to the international body, the US had "a legitimate expectation" that its goodwill would be "recognised and respected".
The threat was met with condemnation from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said Trump "cannot buy Turkey's democratic will".
Abbas echoed Erdogan's sentiment, saying he hoped the US will "learn the lesson and understand that you cannot impose solutions by using money and trying to buy off countries".
The Palestinian Authority hopes the European Union will take a leading role in peace negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis, Abbas continued.
"We have trust in you. We respect the efforts made by you and we count heavily on your efforts," Abbas told French President Macron.
Macron reaffirmed the French position that the two-state solution is the answer to ending the 70-year Israeli occupation of Palestine.
Macron went on to criticise Trump's move: "The Americans have marginalised themselves and I am trying to not do the same thing. I do not approve of Trump's decision regarding Jerusalem."
Although he took a critical tone, Macron, 40, has previously said he will not immediately seek a French peace initiative.
Instead, he will wait for the outcome of the US efforts following Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.
Macron has increasingly been holding meetings with Middle East leaders in recent weeks.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, was in Paris for talks less than two weeks ago.
"I have committed myself very clearly to doing everything" to further peace, Macron said.
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Abbas is flailing. He sees both the US and Saudi Arabia turning away.
One French President - Sarkozy - has already gotten his fingers severely burned by sticking them into the ME fire. Let's hope Macron is smarter than that. I'm not taking any bets...
Good thing you're not - You would lose. Check out this:
Abbas and the “Palestinians” have no desire for peace with Israel
Following Islamic teaching since the days of Mohammed, Abbas speaks with the tongue of deceit that the Quran commands of Muslims
Abbas on November 29, 2014
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas Sunday promised someday the PA flag would fly over “Jerusalem, eternal capital of the state of Palestine.”
"One day, a young Palestinian will raise the Palestinian flag over Jerusalem,” he vowed, “the eternal capital of the state of Palestine!”
Abbas on November 11, 2014
Neither the Muslim nor the Christian world will ever accept the Israeli claims that Jerusalem belongs to them. No one, [neither] Muslims nor Christians, will accept that Jerusalem be [anything] but the capital of the State of Palestine, and we will accept no other claims, whatever they may be. Jerusalem is our capital, and we will not give it up. Jerusalem, which was conquered in 1967, is our Jerusalem and our capital, and we will protect it and defend its holy places. We are all Murabitin (i.e., those who carry out Ribat , religious conflict/war over land claimed to be Islamic) along with the children of Jerusalem.”
There is NO legal claim for the Arabs to any of the land of Israel including the West Bank and Gaza. There are NO internationally agreed upon treaties, NO UN Binding Resolutions, or other agreements that give them that land. They have their own country via a legal treaty and it's called Jordan.
The West Bank and Gaza are not occupied territories. They were given to Israel in 1922 via the San Remo Treaty (approved by the League of Nations) which also created the nations of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan.
ALL of the UN Resolutions regarding Israel are NON BINDING Chapter 6 Resolutions which are only RECOMMENDATIONS and carry no weight of enforcement. Read the UN Charter.
Even Resolution 181 which supposedly established the state of Israel and a separate area for Arabs was NON BINDING. The Arabs in fact voted against it and went to war the next day after it's passage.
UN General Assembly Resolutions are even less authoritative. They are votes of “Sentiment” and cannot be law.
There was NO Attempt to create a separate Palestinian state in the land of Israel (including the West Bank and Gaza) until 1967. ALL efforts prior to that were focused on eliminating the state of Israel and making the entire region part of Muslim/Arab control.”
I think Abbas would like to be the guy who achieves peace, but not at the cost of his own personal power. There's no path.
So nothing will happen until the current marginalization of the Palestinian cause goes a lot further.
Abbas needs to first come to the table before making any bullshit demands. The Palestinians have been the problem for far too long. He either needs to come to the table or STFU and deal with what ever comes down.
The little prick is just using our actions regarding the embassy in Jerusalem as an excuse.
That's exactly what he's doing. If everybody (especially the US) acknowledges that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, Abbas is dead in the water.
It should be no surprise that Abbas is turning to Macron for support.
Now... THAT is the Gatestone Institute that we all know and love....
Are you in denial of the facts related in the article?
It reads like something one of our NT wingnuts would write about Bill Clinton: frothing rage with no substance. Pure red meat.
So you can't deny the facts, but can just criticize the tone.
Yes. It's called "Making a mountain out of a molehill."